Listennnnnn.....IDK what the AI image thingy is doing. This is a placeholder till I can find an image I like
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On the morning of Adzo's thirteenth birthday, she woke up thinking even the birds chirped a little louder for her. She lifted herself from bed, searching the clock face.
It was proper morning so everyone would have been awake. She knew they would either be done with the preparations or about to be. So instead of turning right and flying into the living room, Adzo turned left towards the bathroom.
She would give them time to finish up. This had to be perfect. She had only been waiting the last eight years for this.
Adzo's cleansing routine was slow and deliberate. She took extra time to wash her hair, brush her teeth and cleanse herself. It felt symbolic even. She would leave the bathroom having cleansed her old self off.
Three raps on the door and then an exasperated voice.
"Are you growing a farm in there? What's taking you soo long?"
No elaborate hairstyle for me then, she thought.
Instead she styled with a simple braid draped over one shoulder. If she did go up in flames, the house would be protected.
"Coming, coming mama!"
Her mother's face stretched into the widest grin. One Adzo couldn't resist mirroring.
"Perfect" She said simply before entangling their hands to walk into Adzo's naming ceremony.
That joy was cut short by three short knocks on the front door. A Uek man and child had walked in then. The older grabbing Mama's hands and pulling her out into the hallway.
Adzo would remember the shocked gasps that lit up the room the seconds after the door shut. She would also remember the little dark skinned Uek boy whose beautiful eyes were framed with fear and the purest of blue-white lashes.
Mama had returned shortly after, when the tensions in the room were so thick Ado felt her skin would break from the tightness in the room. She had searched the room till she met with Adzo still sat in her position on the dusk-orange sofa.
"I'll tell you your name when I return" Mama said with the same grin she had given earlier.
She grabbed her jacket off its hook, shared a wordless command with one of the adults behind her then left.
Mama had not returned till the evening, shortly before the ceremonial end of Adzo's party at the beach.
"Tisaeja Adzo Píèsíe Nanyamka Hemmaa, first of the Crystalbough's" Mama said.
Tisaeja beamed, first at seeing her mother and then at her new name.
Their little group of family and friends weaved hands over shoulders in a tight embrace. They moved in and out, tightening and widening the circle as they spoke her name over and over again.
On the fifth chant, Mama folded her legs under her and Tisaeja did same. Mama held a calabash with the concoction only she would know. She dipped her hands in the calabash repeatedly, marking Tisaeja's face.
"Adzo Píèsíe, she who was born on Monday is the first of the Crystalbough's" She said, dipping one finger in the calabash and placing the first mark over Tisaeja's eyes. The group repeated in a chant.
"Adzo Nanyamka, she who was born on Monday is a gift from God" She said, the second mark on her forehead.
"Adzo Tisaeja, she who was born on Monday is like fire" She said, marking one cheek and then the other. The chants continued. Occasionally one of her cousins would break through with a shrill cry.
"Adzo Hemmaa, she who was born on Monday is a queen. Treasured, feared. Powerful" Mama said, deepening the emotion in her voice.
Mama dragged a finger from Tisaeja's hairline to her chin, splitting her face in two. Mama tapped her forehead to Tisaeja's and a shrill cry rend the air. Marking the peak of the ceremony.
It was the first night Tisaeja had drank in passions. She was so full of it, her mother had thought her drunk. Chiding the adults about a lack of responsibility.
It was the best way to have ended the night, Tisaeja felt. She felt as powerful as her new name and just as unstoppable. And she would be unstoppable. It was her own promise.
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